Saildrone, Palantir partner to use AI to streamline USV manufacturing, operations
“Leveraging Palantir’s sophisticated manufacturing and AI tools will allow us to streamline manufacturing and radically enhance fleet capabilities,” said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone’s CEO
Saildrone will deploy 20 of its Voyager USVs in support of 4th Fleet’s Operation Southern Spear. (Photo courtesy of Saildrone.)
WASHINGTON — National security tech giant Palantir and unmanned maritime tech firm Saildrone today announced a strategic partnership focused on utilizing artificial intelligence to bolster Saildrone’s “manufacturing, supply chain, and fleet operations.”
“Leveraging Palantir’s sophisticated manufacturing and AI tools will allow us to streamline manufacturing and radically enhance fleet capabilities,” said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone’s CEO. “While others make promises about tomorrow’s technology, we face complex global threats today. This partnership with Palantir ensures we deliver solutions today that outpace tomorrow’s threats.”
Saildrone, a California-based company, has made a splash in recent years with the US Navy through its eponymously named, bright orange USVs which specialize in unclassified intelligence collection and data processing. Between the Navy and various civilian federal agencies, the company’s drones have been used for tracking narcotics trafficking, illegal fishing operations and compiling oceanographic data, among other things.
The company in February announced it had begun a new iteration of operations in coordination with US 4th Fleet, dubbed “Southern Spear.” That operation will focus on using unmanned and autonomous vehicles to “support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking while learning lessons for other theaters,” according to a Navy officer overseeing the activities.
The announcement also follows Palantir in December unveiling its “Warp Speed” initiative, a “manufacturing operating system” aimed at using AI to “gain an advantage in dynamic production scheduling, engineering change management, automated visual inspection for quality, and more,” according to a company statement. Anduril Industries, L3Harris, Panasonic Energy of North America (PENA), and Shield AI were all included in Palantir’s initial cohort for the initiative.
“We built Warp Speed to accelerate the organizations at the forefront of American reindustrialization — from the factory floor to the open ocean,” said Emily Nguyen, Palantir’s head of industrials. “Saildrone is delivering the future of maritime AI, and we are extremely proud to provide software that supports the sustained competitive advantage of their USVs.”
Palantir today is slated to host the sixth iteration of its artificial intelligence conference, dubbed AIPC. Investor’s Business Daily reported Palantir’s stock had climbed on Wednesday amid a “sudden gloom” for other AI stocks.
